Jong-Fast...examines this 'annus horribilis' with exacting detail, unflinching honesty and raw emotion, managing to leaven the pain with self-deprecating humor and a mighty reservoir of love. Her prose is direct, simple and filled with bits of wisdom, asides to the reader, all of which creates an experience of intimacy with an adored friend ... A midlife coming-of-age story in the extreme. Jong-Fast has put to words the tumult of the worst year of her life, captured and harnessed the experience so that the rest of us can know that we are not alone. She’s Job with a sense of humor.
Gripping ... Emotional ... Readers will relate to the raw vulnerability she expresses in her relationship and will feel both pain and uplift as they make their way through the book.
Her honesty, her self-awareness, and her grief keep you on her side, as well as her humor, understated, blunt, and sometimes black ... The best book Jong-Fast could have written about the worst year of her life.
Staggering ... Resisting tidy sentiment or easy answers, Jong-Fast dives headfirst into the often-difficult ambiguities of parent-child bonds. The results are stunning.
